Keri Vs The Hill

First I will tell you about last Sunday. We got together with Hardcore Suzie for a trail run. Didn't get too far into it and Amy turned her ankle(BOOOO) It always sucks when someone gets an injury. I just want everyone to excel. Injuries are hard on the body but really hard when the body is itching to perform! There were only three of us left with Suzie for the trail run. It was a great run. It was my first time trail running. Very different from road running. It is so much more beautiful and I found it a little more challenging as well. The body is manoeuvring through the woods. I really felt my core worked out harder on the trails. I need to trail run more.

Ok so ...Yesterday...OH MY GOD!!! We met at Mountsberg Conservation Park. It was quite the endurance challenge. We had to run and then bike and then run and then bike and in the middle of that we had to run up stairs 5 times, doing push ups every time we climbed the stairs. After the stair climbing drill we had to do 15 burpees! Then more biking. I really don't know how to describe how hard it was. To date I have run four 10 mile races and two half marathons. Neither of those races challenged me quite like yesterday. The running of course wasn't too much of a challenge. The stairs and burpees were painful. But the biking. OMG. This little body is made of endurance. But not alot of power. I need more power in my legs. The hills. Those big bad hills. Shane has been continuously telling me to change the gears. Granny Gear. I can get up the hill in granny gear. Yesterday I burned myself out by being in the wrong gear. I had to walk my bike up the hill. I was sooooooooo mad at myself. Shane and Amy were telling me to get back on the bike. I honestly felt like I was on the biggest loser. You know when Jillian is yelling at the contestant telling them to do more and they are yelling back "I Cant" that is exactly how I felt. I was talking to myself, cursing at myself, praising myself etc. It was such a roller coaster of emotions. I secretly cried. Not that I was sad. I was overwhelmed with emotion. So happy and proud of myself. Living in the moment. Even though I didn't do as well on the bike as I would have liked. I am so proud. I feel so alive. I enjoyed every bit of pain. I will endure more as I will conquer the bike. I am going to beat that bike of mine. I will get stronger and I will bike up that hill....and I wont stop till I do! I must say it was pretty sweet cruising down the hill. I was really good at that part!!!!

Thank you again to all my teammates who helped me along yesterday. So empowering. You guys help me believe in myself and not give up! Thank you a million times over.

Gear down KRod !!!

Sunday's are definitely my favorite day of the week. They haven't always been. It used to be Friday nights. Ever since the beginning of this Racedayrush experience Sundays have found themselves on the top of the totem pole.
Last Sunday (wish I forgot to blog about) was once again at Lasalle Park. I got my bootie handed to me by The Amazing Suzie Opie! Dang that Phat Chick really knows how to push me out of my comfort zone. As hard as it is , I LOVE IT. Again we had to do the dreaded burpee. Although I still am not the best at them, I was sooooooo much better than the first day we did them. Suzie also had us do Sprints. They are killar!!!! When I hear the word sprint....I wanna cry. I pushed and pushed and pushed some more. Just when I thought it was over we did two more! I am very thankful for the sprints. It is making me a better runner overall. I love running but I have been at the same level for about 2 years now. I think after this experience I am going to push the limits and train for a full marathon. After hanging with the Phat Chicks, Shane and Neil from RDR, I feel like I can do anything!

This past Sunday we headed to Hilton Falls for a biking and navigation adventure. That is was. We spend the first 40 minutes or so speaking to Brian about navigation. I learned some....but need to learn more. I am still a little confused. We broke up in to pairs and had to locate 4 fcolored balls in the woods along the trail. I was paired with Amy. Very greatful for that. Amy if you are reading this you are awesome . Thank you for all your support. Every time I heard you say "Come on Doll" my heart smiled and it gave me that extra "umf" to push through. I really found it very challenging at times getting up the hills. My butt was burning. My thighs were burning. Everything hurt. I wanted to stop. "Come on Doll".......saved me more than once.

I could have made it a little easier on myself by using the gears. GEARS ARE YOUR FRIENDS!!!! I was afraid at first to use them cause I thought my chain would pop off. Shane kept telling me "K ROD.....Gear down" "K ROD ...Gear up" Thanks Shane. The last 30 minutes or so I was gearing up and down and up and sideways and backwards. Love the gears. They ARE my friends!!!! After finding all the balls after some backtracking, myself and Amy cruised home. What a sweet feeling! We had no idea what place we were in, however we really didn't mind if we were to be last. We were working hard and getting fresh air. We ended up being the second team to finish. Not Bad Hey!!!!

Today I am a little sore, mainly in the butt area!!!!! Nothing I cant handle. I am getting so much stronger. I am so proud of myself.

PS . I was pouring wine for a guest at the restaurant
Guest " You work out don't you?"
Me "Who Me?"
Guest " Ya You"
Me "How do you know?"
Guest "I noticed your little guns"
Me " Woo Hoo....." Then I flexed for him!!!!!!!!

They may be little guns, but they are mine, and they are guns, and 2 months ago I didn't have them!!!!!!!

Sun, Fun and Canoe's

This past Sunday we headed to Kelso Conservation Park to canoe!!!! It was an absolutely beautiful day. The last time I was in a canoe was ....well...I don't even know it was that long ago. I have kayaked a few times in the past few years but I was alone and I just cruised along at my own pace. Much different than canoeing and working with a partner. It was very hard for me. Being a 98 pound woman I don't have alot of upper body strength, so digging deep to get the canoe to spin was hard for me. Of course I started moaning again. .When I did deep I moan! Still embarrassing. After about 40 minutes I already had two big blisters on my thumbs. I pushed through the pain as they hurt bad(still do). I managed to forget about the thumbs cause I was trying so hard to concentrate on the proper stroking technique. I think I got it down but it took a while to figure it out properly.

We had a race to see who could get the most balloons as they were tied to the end of the canoes. I thought we were doing great until I got excited and went to reach for a balloon in the water and tipped the canoe. It was great learning how to get back in . I did it. And rode all the way to the shore. The canoe was filled with water. It really was so much fun. Until of course I realized I had lost THREE sets of car keys in the lake. None of which were mine. I can't begin to tell you how that felt. So I wont.

Overall it was a great experience. I learned quite a bit about canoeing and how extremly important it is to work in a team. Being in the water made me very happy. It may be the Newfoundlander in me that loves that. I felt so alive. So happy. So content. I am grateful to racedayrush for every new experience.